Time For Gaming Machines
May Be Running Out
By Guy Leonard
Staff Writer

Foreign Nationals
Arrested For Illegally
Operating Vessel On
Chesapeake Bay
Five crewmembers of a Maltese-flagged cargo ship
have been charged with improperly operating their vessel
because of alleged as they were departing the Chesapeake
Bay near Calvert County according to U.S. Attorney for
the District of Maryland Rod Rosenstein’s office.
Wojciech Kowalski, 63, of Poland, the master of the
M/V Ocean Victory, Yevgen Bystrov, 39, of Ukraine, the
ship’s second officer, Sergey Prokofyev, 37, a Russian ablebodied seaman, and Volodym Voychenko, 45, and Yuriy
Shelkunov, 29 both of the Ukraine made their initial appearance in federal court Monday.
According to information from Rosenstein’s office,
several crewmembers left the helm of the ship unattended
but returned to the wheelhouse upon demands of Maryland
captains who were on board assisting ship’s operations.
One crewman, Voychenko, allegedly held a knife on
one of the Maryland captains after he shoved the captain
twice.
U.S. Coast Guard personnel were called in to assist
the Maryland captains.
Kowalski has been charged with failing to ensure the
wheelhouse was constantly manned and that the crew
posted was competent to perform their duties and making
false statements to Coast Guard officials about one of his
crew brandishing a knife.
The other defendants are charged with operating
the vessel while intoxicated. The vessel was anchored
at the mouth of the Patuxent River as the investigation
continued.

Federal Funds Secured
for STEM Program
St. Mary’s County Public Schools is the beneficiary
of $487,000 in federal funds secured by U.S. Congressman Steny Hoyer (D-MD) through an Omnibus Appropriations bill recently passed by Congress. Congressman
Hoyer will visit the SMCPS Middle School STEM Academy at Spring Ridge Middle School on Tuesday, March 25,
2008, at 1:15 p.m. to make a formal presentation. These
funds will be used to support the St. Mary’s County Public Schools Science Technology Engineering Mathematics
(STEM) Academies that currently exist at Lexington Park
Elementary School, Spring Ridge Middle School, and
Great Mills High School.

Sheriff Timothy K. Cameron
said the legality of electronic gaming
devices currently in local restaurants
and bars in St. Mary’s County is still
under investigation, but the inquest
will not last long.
Cameron told The County Times
that owners of establishments hosting
the gaming machines – which resemble slot machines – should receive a
letter by the end of the week notifying
them whether the machines are legal
based on an opinion passed down by
the State Attorney General’s office
early last week.
“That’s the plan right now,” Cameron said in a telephone interview
late Monday, adding that “there’s no
grace period” in dealing with the machines if they are found to be operatSee Gaming page A-

Convicted Killer Sentenced
To Life In Prison
By Guy Leonard
Staff Writer
Circuit Court Judge C. Clarke Raley sentenced 20-year-old
Johntonna Young to life without parole for the killing of an aircraft
mechanic in February of 2007 in Lexington Park, the county’s only
homicide last year.
Young was convicted in September of killing Kenneth James Wal-

ter, 24, by shooting him twice in the head when the victim
came out to his running automobile on a winter morning and
found Young in the backseat of his car, apparently attempting
to steal certain items.
Young, according to court testimony at his trial, used a
Glock 19 9mm handgun that had been stolen in an armed robbery of The Tackle Box just days before.
The victim’s parents Cynthia and Guy Walter both delivered impassioned pleas to the court asking for the maximum
penalty for their son’s killer.
See Life page A-

Anglers Chip In To Improve
The Chesapeake Bay
By Guy Leonard
Staff Writer
Local fishermen who love
the sport are concerned that
the resource they enjoy, the
waterways of Southern Maryland and the aquatic life they
support, is dwindling and
that their children will not be
able to enjoy hooking fish the
same way.
But they aren’t about to
let the precious resource just
slip away. They plan on using a not-so-secret weapon
— the oyster — to make a
difference.
The Patuxent River Chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) started a waterway restoration
project March 18 in which
they placed 25,000 oysters in
St. Thomas Creek in the hope
they will contribute to the
See Oysters page A-
Photo by Andrea Shiell

Volunteers pack oysters into nets at St. Thomas Creek on Tuesday as part of the Coastal Conservation Association’s
new waterway restoration project.

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The County Times

Section A -

Thursday, March 20, 2008
to and cap off.
“I can tell you it sounded like a jet
engine.”
The leak was contained shortly after
2p.m. that day, according to information
released by the county.
The smell of gas was strong all the way
down to the Greenview Knolls community and
caused the county public school system to hold
all the children inside Greenview Knolls Elementary School on Military Lane.
Brad Clements, chief operating officer
for the public schools, said the day went on as
normal for the 533 or so students at the school,
though outside recess and other privileges were
suspended.
The school’s heating, air conditioning and
ventilation system were adjusted to keep potentially noxious fumes out of the building.
“We kept students inside… we weren’t
bringing in fresh air at the time,” Clemens
said. “We were re-circulating the air in the
building.”
Students were dismissed at their normal
time, Clemens said, and watches for gas fumes
at nearby Esperanza Middle School and Green
Holly Elementary School turned up negative.

Gas Leak Shuts Down Buck Hewitt Road
By Guy Leonard
Staff Writer
When Stephen Shiell left his home on Oriole Drive in the Victoria’s Grant subdivision Friday to go to work he was met with a foul smelling surprise.
“As I approached Buck Hewitt Road, the
smell of gas was very strong; enough to make
you cough,” Shiell told The County Times of the
natural gas leak that closed down Buck Hewitt
road for several hours last week. “It was obviously a massive gas leak.”
As he continued his drive down the road
near the Lexington Park Volunteer Rescue
Squad “the smell became almost overpowering,” Shiell said, adding that he saw a hole in
the ground on a road being built off of Buck
Hewitt.
It was there he saw what he believed to be
the gas leak.
“It was obvious, debris and everything was
flying out of it,” Shiell said. “But when I passed
that point the smell stopped.”
The gas leak caused the county Department

of Public Safety to start a reverse 911 call out
to residents of Buck Hewitt Road to stay inside
their homes but also to extinguish any sources
of potential ignition that could have caused the
leaking gas to catch fire.
That included not using phones, according
to county officials.
David Zylak, director of the Department of
Public Safety, said the main concern was over
old rotary phones that might cause a spark because of their older technology.
“We asked people to not use their phones,
which in retrospect turned out to not be necessary because of the newer [telephone] technology,” Zylak said.
The gas main was cut by a backhoe while
doing construction work for a new house, Zylak
said.
Shiell said he was unaware of any of the
“shelter in place” warnings as he had already
gone to work. He said he saw the leaking hole
somewhere between 9:30 and 10 a.m. that
morning.
“I think I was there as it happened or shortly
thereafter,” Shiell said.

Wayne Johnson, chief of the Bay District
Volunteer Fire Department, which helped block
the road, explained the thinking behind the reverse 911 call.
“There were shifting winds,” Johnson said.
“The purpose [of the reverse 911] was to get
people to shut their windows and avoid a gas
buildup.”
Firefighters and Maryland State Troopers
blocked off both ends of Buck Hewitt Road,
from Route 235 to Chancellor’s Run Road, and
did not allow anyone in or out while the gas leak
had yet to be contained.
Units from Bay Disrict and Hollywood fire
departments were on the scene as well as two
ambulances from Lexington Park Volunteer
Rescue Squad.
Hazardous materials units from Patuxent
River Naval Air Station and the county also
rolled in to secure the area so Washington Gas
Co. could seal the leaking main.
“It was a six-inch gas main pumping at
about 55 pounds per square inch,” said Bay District Assistant Chief Joe Gould, who was on the
scene. “It’s not something you can just walk up

Wreckage Unveiled As Reminder
Andrea Shiell
Staff Writer
Customers driving into
the Loveville Motor Vehicle
Administration will now pass
a real eyesore to renew their
licenses.
On Thursday morning,
The MVA, in coordination
with Allstate Insurance and

Brandywine Motors, unveiled
a kind of public service announcement in the form of a
wrecked 1990s Hyundai Elantra with deployed airbags and a
crushed front bumper, parked
in the small stretch of grass in
the front parking lot. This is the
first time local offices have carried out such a plan.
At the unveiling, office

manager Herb Butler described
the wreckage as a reminder to
drive responsibly, particularly
for young drivers. He said he
had observed parents coming into the office with their
teens for provisional licenses,
and both being “extremely excited…many celebrated the
event.”
Butler and others wanted
to inject a little reality into that
particular rite of passage.
“The teen driver should
be congratulated on a job well
done,” said Butler. “However,
the issuance of a provisional license is not cause for parents to
stop supervised driving practice
with their teen.”
Young drivers represent
eight percent of licensed drivers in Southern Maryland, but
they represent 29 percent of
the at-fault drivers involved
in crashes in Calvert County,
24.6 percent in Charles County,
and 27 percent in St. Mary’s
County, ranking them among
the worst drivers in the state of
Maryland, where overall young
drivers represent 17 percent of
the at-fault drivers involved in
crashes.
A further breakdown of
available statistics shows that in
St. Mary’s County, 31 percent
of aggressive driver crashes are
caused by young drivers, along
with 29 percent of inattentive
driver crashes, and
14.9 percent of impaired driver crashes.

Speed, passengers and
other distractions; inexperience; and not wearing restraints
are significant factors in young
driver crashes, and Butler made
a point of reminding those at
the unveiling that 60 hours of
behind the wheel practice with
parents and guardians is still
required, and that parents have
options when it comes to keeping their youngsters compliant.
“At Loveville, when we
process these licenses, we are
reminding the parents of teens
under 18 that they have an absolute right to withdraw their
consent for these teens and this
will result in the immediate
suspension of the license,” said
Butler.
Some would like to see this
message taken a step further,
including wrecked cars at every
high school in the county as a
daily reminder to young drivers to exercise caution and act
responsibly.
Bob Mika, a St. Mary’s
County resident as well as an
employee for E-surance, said
he had seen too many tragedies
as a result of carelessness on the
part of young drivers, and he
will be speaking to the Board of
Education as part of a campaign
to get wrecked cars parked on
the front lawn of every high
school in the county.
“I expect some people
won’t like the idea,” he said,
“but it’s better to look at that
than to look at your teenager

getting buried…I want to make
it happen before prom season.”
Deputy Sheriff D.T. Ross,
who has been working to supply car crash videos for classrooms, was also at the unveiling, and commented that “this
is just a fender bender here.”
Ross added that though
this would make a statement, it

With the rash of teenagers
killed in car accidents over the
last year, officials are urging
stronger messages to get this
point across.
“This message made public today will hopefully serve as
a reminder to parents and teen
drivers…of the serious and
often heartbreaking outcomes

Photo by Andrea Shiell
In the wake of statistics showing young drivers disproportionately at fault in
car accidents in Southern Maryland, MVA officials unveiled a wrecked car
on Thursday to serve as a reminder to young drivers and their parents to
use caution.

could probably be made stronger with a more serious crash.
She said some schools in other
states were in the habit of parking wreckages from fatal crashes on their front lawns.
According to the National
Highway Traffic Administration, 42,642 people died in
automobile accidents in 2006,
out of a total of 5.9 million accidents nationwide. It is estimated that 16 and 17 year-olds
are four times more likely to
be involved in car crashes than
adults, and that they are three
times more likely to die in one.

which can result from poor,
negligent or improper teen driving behavior,” said Butler.
Ross’s colleague, a Leonardtown High School senior
named Chris Kalnasey, videotaped the unveiling as part
of his television course at the
Forrest Technology Center. He
said he agreed with the idea of
including wreckage at the high
schools, adding that he felt teenagers could use the reminder.
“Some teens think that
they’re still invincible,” Kalnasey said. “I think that if they
see this, they’ll think twice.”

One Alternative Education Program To Replace Another
Andrea Shiell
Staff Writer

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Drivers may not even
be aware as they are passing White Oak Secondary Center on Great Mills
Road that they are passing
one of the county’s premier
pathways for alternative
education. The inconspicuous white building does
not have the trappings of
the larger high schools in
the area, which boast large
parking lots and football
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there in the county’s hopes
of arresting their academic
and social problems.
But the White Oak
Secondary Center will be
closing at the end of this
school year to make way
for another pathway, the
Fairlead Academy. As
a result of internal program reviews and as an
outgrowth of St. Mary’s
County Public Schools
Task Force to Eliminate
the Achievement Gap, the
Middle School Task Force,
and most recently the High
School Task Force, a decision has been made to
close the existing program
at White Oak Secondary
Center at the end of this
school year. “We are merely acting on the recommendations of those task
forces,” explained Theo
Cramer, Director of Academic Support.
Students from that program will return to their
home schools next fall,
and individual transition
meetings will occur for

each student currently attending White Oak. Fairlead Academy will open in
its place in August 2008,
and it will be housed in
the same facility as White
Oak, but whereas the current program serves 50 students from grades seven to
twelve, Fairfield Academy
will serve 60 ninth grade
students. “The difference
is going to be the focus,”
said Cramer. “I think before it tried to meet too
many needs for too many
students.”
Chief Academic Officer Linda Dudderar described the existing program the same way. “I
think what has evolved
there perhaps is asking one
program to do too much for
too many.”
Candidates for the
program are those with
lower MSA scores who
may benefit from focused
reading and math interventions. “What we are really looking at are students
who haven’t achieved in

middle school,” said Dudderar, explaining that students who are struggling
as they go into ninth grade
are more likely to drop out
later. “According to the research we think we can get
more accomplished focusing on the transition from
eighth to ninth grade,” said
Cramer.
The students at Fairlead will have access to
a personalized education
program, working in teams
in 90-minute instructional
learning blocks, in classes with no more than ten
students. Sixty students
will be invited to participate during the 2008-2009
school year, with parent information sessions taking
place after spring break.
Parents of current eligible
eighth graders will be receiving information about
the sessions.
“We’re very excited
about this,” said Cramer. “I
think we’re going to be able
to better meet the needs of
these students.”

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The County Times

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Section A -

Man Sentenced To Five Years For Armed Robbery
By Guy Leonard
Staff Writer
A Lexington Park man
who took part in an Independence Day home invasion
last year in search of marijuana and money while using
a handgun was sentenced to
five years in prison Tuesday
by Circuit Court Judge Michael J. Stamm.
Trey D. Barnes, 21, plead
guilty to an armed robbery
charge back in November and

agreed to provide information
to the State’s Attorney’s Office regarding the crime and
about his accomplice Derrick
R. Medley, 23, of Great Mills.
Medley was convicted of
three counts of burglary and
three counts of first-degree
assault after a two-day trial
in the home invasion case on
Medley’s Neck Road.
According to police reports and the state’s attorney’s office, both Barnes and
Medley went to the boarding

house July 4 of 2007 with intent of robbing one of the residents living there of drugs and
money.
Prosecutors say that Medley and Barnes broke into
several rooms, held residents
at gunpoint and demanded
to know where the one holding the marijuana and money
was.
A struggle ensued with
their intended victim, according to court testimony, and
Barnes fired a shot down a

hallway during the melee.
Both fled after the shot
was fired and held a gun in
the face of the boarding house
owner warning him to get
back, court testimony stated.
Because of his cooperation, Barnes sentence was
brought down to five years
from an original 10 years for
the armed robbery plea.
“You’re going to lose five
years of your life, but your decision to help the state saved
you some time,” Stamm told

while still in the 10th grade.
“I won’t do that if you
don’t have a GED,” Stamm
said.
Barnes showed contrition
in court for his crime.
“I’d like to apologize…
for what I did,” Barnes said.
“I take all the responsibility
for it.”
Medley, Barnes accomplice, is still awaiting sentencing after his February
conviction.

Barnes. “If you walk the walk
[of criminal behavior] you
know where you’ll end up.”
Barnes also agreed to testify against Medley at his trial
but was never called.
Stamm also gave Barnes
credit for the 258 days he
served in the county detention facility and told him that
he would consider early probation as long as Barnes was
able to finish his high school
equivalency.
Barnes said he left school

Editorial & Opinion
County Commissioners Want
Pictures of Your Property
The St. Mary’s County Board of Commissioners recently hired a contractor from outside the State of Maryland to enter upon your private property and take photographs of your property.
The Commissioners do not plan to notify you when
these individuals will show up at your home, and the individuals do not plan to inform you that they are there and
why they are on your property. The Commissioners will
however give these out of state individuals a St. Mary’s
County Government Identification badge.
The purpose of these photographs will be to put pictures of your property, your home, and other buildings on
your property on the county’s computer system. You can
currently find photos of your property on the County’s
web site by locating GIS (geographic information system)
and Zoning Maps. These photos are taken by satellite and
do not show details such as doors, windows, etc.
The County wants to be able to show your home in
much greater detail and without your permission, will enter upon your property and take pictures of your home
and upload these photo’s to the County’s GIS System.
The Commissioners give several reasons for do-

ing this, but offer improved emergency services as their
strongest argument.
The world of technology has changed the way we all
live. People’s lives are more public than ever thanks to
the Internet. Many good things have come as a result
of changes in technology and the increase in information
available to the public as a result.
While things change, as Americans we must ask ourselves just how much of our rights and privacy we are
willing to give up for the sake of technology. Furthermore, just how much of our privacy does government, or
anyone else have a right to expose?
And what’s worse, the Commissioners use your hard
earned money to expose the privacy of your home to the
world.
This is big-brother government acting in the worst
way.
First, what if the person taking pictures on your
property is not actually the contractor hired by County
government, but rather unscrupulous persons wanting information for other purposes? How would you know the
difference?

To the Editor:
Dear Editor:
In response to a recent letter “Want Gas
With Your Corn,” I will agree that the U.S.
is oil-addicted. Based on inflation rates, we
have only recently exceeded the cost of gas
compared to (pre-embargo) 1970s prices. We
don’t “need” oil; we have enough. We just
need to use less. I reduced my family’s energy
use 35% in the past year. I made sacrifices; I
am trying to do more. I attended the Sustainable Building Forum at St. Mary’s Airport
last weekend. Ideas and possibilities were
everywhere!
If we learn to conserve, we won’t have
to drill in ecologically-fragile areas. Cutting
swaths of forest or other pristine areas, or what
is left of them, is unacceptable. The fact that
these areas are not in my back yard doesn’t
mean they are not important to me.
As for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), I have no idea where “35 years
worth” of oil will come from. According to
Wikipedia.org, “America’s own oil requirements” would be met for – according to (Bush
installed, drilling proponent, former head of
the U.S. Dept. of the Interior) Gale Norton –
only 525 days; reduce that to 215 days by lower
estimates from more in-depth studies.
Side notes: (1) In Dec 2005, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) attached an ANWR drilling
amendment to the annual defense appropriations bill; it was later removed and the bill
passed. Recently, Stevens’ son was implicated
by the FBI in bribery schemes with Alaska’s
largest oil field service company, VECO. At
least two other Alaskan Congressmen are under investigation for oil-related scandal. (2)
30,000 Alaskan residents have a multi-billion
dollar lawsuit pending against Exxon for the
1989Exxon Valdez oil spill. Exxon made $40
Billion (yes, that’s a ‘b’) last year and $39 Billion in 2006. While their stockholders have not
voted to take responsibility for Exxon’s negligence, but I’m sure they appreciate Exxon’s
Federal subsidies that boost annual earnings.
Those criticizing the environmentalist lob-

by should know that the energy lobby generously funds their own cause. From 2002-2007,
35 U.S. Senators averaged $161,382 from the
energy lobby when voting for their cause; the
58 voting against them received only $56,942.
The top five House recipients (all Republicans)
reeled in $3.67 million. In the House, from
1989-2006, pro-energy lobby Reps averaged
$109,277 each. Contributions from the oil and
gas industry to the top five Senate recipients (4
were Republicans) totaled $2.45 million. I truly doubt the “Radical environmentalist lobbyists” harvested more funding from the likes of
solar panel and wind turbine manufacturers.
I thank God no new refineries have been
built in almost 40 years. I have driven past
these areas and I also thank God I don’t live
near one. Until a refinery can be built that isn’t
contaminating groundwater for the residents
within a large radius, maybe “American ingenuity” could design a refinery that does not
result in a Superfund site. That has not happened yet, and the Superfund has dropped to
almost zero under the current administration.
While God may have placed oil beneath our
great country, I consider it a test of our collective self-control: our ability to resist temptation. We are slowly failing that test.
The current administration supports ethanol, which would raise “the price of your dinner...” Ethanol, as currently produced in he
U.S., uses 34% MORE energy than it saves. If
only I had invested in corn futures! So it will
cause us to pay more at the pump as well. My
dinner’s price will never be increased by wind
power, solar power, or other renewable energy
(many types are currently available and quickly deployable), and my air will not be contaminated by those, either. With conservation and
these alternatives, our air quality improves,
global warming is slowed, and we protect and
preserve our unique national treasures.

Respectfully,
David Kanter
Hughesville, Md

Do you have something to say?
Would like your voice to be heard?
Send us a letter telling us what’s on your mind!

Secondly, unless there is an emergency, what gives the
Commissioners the authority to enter upon your property
without your permission? At the very least, you should
be notified when to expect these contractors to be at your
property.
Thirdly, shouldn’t you have a say as to whether or
not you want government to have pictures of your property? And more important, shouldn’t you decide where
this information may be used?
Fourth, has anyone in the County Commissioners
office taken notice of the extraordinarily difficult economic times and hardships that taxpayers are experiencing. The prior Board of Commissioners cut taxes 7 times
in four years. This Board raised taxes their first year, and
now in the mist or preparing the budget for the upcoming
fiscal year which starts July 1, are not even talking about
tax relief in any form, just more and more spending.
These programs that invade the privacy and violate the private property rights of the taxpayers, while
costing taxpayers millions of dollars are wrong.
Sheriff Cameron is an independent elected official who is sworn to protect the citizens of St. Mary’s
County, even if it means protecting the citizens from other elected officials. As such, Cameron and his deputies
should stand ready to arrest anyone knowingly entering
upon private property without the owner’s permission, including agents of the County Commissioners.

Chesapeake Bay Running Club Thanks
Booz Allen Hamilton, Wyle
Laboratories, The Good
On behalf of the Chesa- Earth Natural Foods Compeake Bay Running Club, pany, Tommy Deagle Hand
we’d like to thank the various Carved Wooden Decoys, Cecommunity organizations and dar Cove Marina, Camp Mersponsors that made the 4th ryelande, Carlson Wagonlit
Lower Potomac River Mara- Travel, Connor Bell, D2 Engithon another success. Since neering LLC, and United Site
the race debuted in 2005, it has Services of Maryland, Inc.
gained a reputation as a top- Course support was provided
tier athletic event that show- by the following volunteers
cases the beauty and com- who spent a cold and windy
munity spirit of St. Mary’s morning staffing aid stations,
County. The race benefits providing communications,
two organizations dedicated and ensuring the safety of our
to preserving the Chesapeake runners along the 26.2-mile
Bay and its history, The Piney course: St. Mary’s County
Point Lighthouse Museum Amateur Radio Association,
and Chesapeake Bay Field Pax Velo, the American Red
Lab. Since 2005 the Lower Cross/Southern
Maryland
Potomac River Marathon Chapter, Boys and Girls Clubs
has raised over $25,000 for of Southern Maryland, 2nd
these worthy organizations. District Volunteer Fire Dept.
The event would not have and Rescue Squad, St. Mary’s
been possible without the gen- County Sheriff’s Dept., MA1
erosity of our sponsors: Mi- Ron Swope and his group of
chelob Ultra/Guy Distribut- sailors from Patuxent NAS,
ing, Eagan, McAllister As- and the staff, family and
sociates, Inc., J.F. Taylor, Inc., friends of the Chesapeake
Dear Editor:

Bay Field Lab and Piney
Point Lighthouse Museum.
The Lower Potomac River
Marathon, which has hosted
runners from thirty-seven
states, the District of Columbia, Canada, Japan, England,
and South Africa, owes much
of its popularity to its gracious
hosts since 2005, the Paul Hall
Center for Maritime Training
and Education. Visiting runners consistently praise Howard Thompson and his staff
for their warm hospitality and
sumptuouspost-raceluncheon.
We also thank the residents of
St. George Island, Piney Point,
Valley Lee and Callaway, and
the businesses along the course
for their neighborliness and
consideration for our athletes.
The Chesapeake Bay Running Club extends hearty
gratitude to all who ensure
the continued success of our
popular and worthwhile event.
Liza
Recto
Race Director

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Well-Behaved
Women
Terri Bartz Bowles
I saw a bumper stick the
other day that was quite intriguing to me. It said “Wellbehaved women rarely make
history”. I was with some
co-workers and most every-

one chuckled. A few agreed
and some of the guys just sort
of lifted their eyebrows in a
“whatever” kind of way. I’ve
been pondering that little saying, though. Surely a woman
came up with it, not the sort of
thing a man would probably

think was a compliment. We
women like things like that,
we shore ourselves up with
thoughts like that. Women
hold onto little mantras, we
hear a lot about the male ego
but women need their egos
boosted, too. And it’s good

Business Leaders Become
Principals for a Day
Andrea Shiell
Staff Writer
Robert Hor got up to share his experiences
with the rest of the Principal for a Day participants during a reception held last Thursday.
Business leaders from across the county –
and some neighboring counties – congregated
to sip punch and relax as they discussed their
different experiences acting as school principals in St. Mary’s County.
Hor explained how his situation was different than many of the others who had participated this year.
“I used to teach for St. Mary’s County
Public Schools,” he said, adding that his wife
still teaches at Esperanza Middle School in
Lexington Park. “Every day I get to hear what
it’s like, and every day she tells me I’ve forgotten how it is.”
Though Hor had been hesitant to admit

that he had indeed forgotten a great deal, he
admitted that his experiences that day had
reopened his sense of involvement with the
community at large, an observation echoed by
many in the room.
Opening up those channels of involvement
was the purpose of the exercise, for which participants attended orientations before spending
their day shadowing school principals, taking
on a variety of educational tasks.
“We want people in the community who
have some spears of influence to understand
our schools,” said Bill Scarafia of the St.
Mary’s County Chamber of Commerce. Scarafia participated in the first run of the event
two years ago.
“I didn’t think it was fair to expect people
to commit to this if I wasn’t committed to it,”
Scarafia said. His commitment paid off, as he
was able to help recruit 22 participants for this
year’s event.

Section A -

when women can boost each
other’s egos.
Exactly how ‘not well-behaved’ does one need to be to
make history? And what kind
of history? I suppose there
are two ways to look at this.
Behavior that polite and conventional society may think
is not good but actually isn’t
harmful, it’s only different.
Or behavior that is off-thebeam for normal, polite society and actually hurts others.
And there’s always a gray area
of behaviors in between. And
it’s all relative, isn’t it? What’s
unacceptable to you may be
no big deal to me. And if trailblazers didn’t shake things up
once in a while, where would
we be? Look at the changes in
attitude in society. Something
that was shocking just a generation or two ago, now is no
big deal. Some of those things
perhaps should be a big deal
but others make you wonder
– what was society thinking?
And what kind of history
are we talking about? Positive things that make a difference to the future of the
human race? Small things

that make one lifetime a little
better or happier? Or huge,
sweeping changes that shake
up commonly held ideas and
make resounding changes?
Or huge, sweeping changes
to one life that little affect the
world at large but make all the
difference to one person? Or
a few people? Or it could be
awful things that make the
world worse or do damage,
again either to one person or
hundreds of people?
Maybe I’m just thinking about it too much. Surely
some little part of everyone
wants to contribute to society
in some form. Some people
want to be famous, some just
want to live their lives and be
reasonably happy. Some of
us pursue happiness, others
wait for happiness to happen
to them. And some poor souls
are just never happy. I have a
difficult time feeling sorry for
such people, though, because
I always think if you don’t
like your life, then change it!
And some people are content
to form happiness for others.
The footprint they leave is a
trail in the lives of other peo-

“I just didn’t want people to call me and
groan, saying ‘what have you gotten me into?’”
he added.
But nobody seemed to be groaning about
their experiences on Thursday.
“The overwhelming impression that I
got…is that the school is amazingly well managed,” said Sonia Wagner, Executive Director
for the College Access Network, a non-profit
company that helps students apply for college
classes. She had spent her day at Leonardtown
High School.
“It ran so smoothly,” she exclaimed,
“though I took away four hats, three cell
phones, and four IPODs.”
“This is no different than running a business,” said Gene Townsend, who had spent his
day at Green Holly Elementary. “But their job
is harder!”
“I think from start to finish, I never stopped
saying wow,” said Colleen Blundell, who spent
her day at Greenview Knolls. “As a business
leader, I just want to know how we can help.”
School Superintendent Michael Martirano
conceded that the goal of the exercise was to
strengthen partnerships between the school

ple, they are little concerned
for themselves. And I would
venture to say that some people who defy convention and
accepted behavior and make
change for future generations
are sometimes quite unhappy
in their lifetime. Their lives
may well be filled with strife
and the true import of their
actions is not felt until well after their deaths.
So, I continue to ponder
this little bumper sticker. I
wonder about the owner of
the vehicle sporting it. Does
she consider herself well-behaved? Or am I marching
far down a path that this little
bumper sticker never intended? Maybe it’s just supposed
to be light-hearted and give
people a chuckle. I don’t really
believe that although I’m sure
there are some who do. What
behavior should one bend and
what are the ramifications of
it? And does one arrive at an
answer before it’s too late to
act on it? Just something to
cogitate on.
You can email the Country Girl at countrygirlramblings@gmail.com

and business communities, some of which
have given rise to successful tutoring and mentor programs.
“One thing that was suggested to me was
that in the off years, maybe principals could
go to the business worksites,” said Martirano,
adding that he felt that a mutual role swapping might be good for everyone involved in
the program. The Principal for a Day program
launched two years ago, and only takes place
every other year.
Keith Fairfax raved about his experiences
learning about cognitive education at Park Hall
Elementary School.
“I believe that some of the old broken down
engineers like myself need to hear about things
like cognitive education,” he said. “I really enjoyed my day…it exceeded my expectations.”
As the reception wound down and awards
were given, Scarafia and Martirano both
beamed.
“I hope that this program…will make it a
community school system rather than a school
system in the community,” said Scarafia,
smiling.

CABINET GALLERY
Invites you to
An Evening of Innovation, Creation
and Design

Club
911
Presents

Friday March 28, 2008
At 7:00 PM
Please join us for a fun and
informative evening whether you are
building or remodeling!

‘signature live’

R.S.V.P. 301-373-4051

CABINET GALLERY

At Dean Lumber & Supply

march 22, 2008

24425 Three Notch Road
Hollywood, Maryland 20636

Taking you back and Bringing you back!

Let us help you get started, provide
product information, and connect you
with the newest trends!
Financing Available

www.dean-lumber.com

St. Mary's City
City
St. Mary’s

Also having a Slumber Party by Debbie
And BEER BONG NITE WITH PRIZES. Be here to
enjoy the music of “Signature” and all the events.

301-884-9801
28260 Three Notch Road
Mechanicsville, MD 20659

DATE
Fri. March 14
Sat. March 15
Sun. March 16
Mon. March 17
Tue. March 18
Wed. March 19
Thu. March 20

Odd News
Conspicuous Caper
Toronto police announced last month
that they had arrested a man who had stolen
a backhoe, intending to drive it into a car
wash so that he could get to the facility’s
coin machine. A man driving a snowplow
called the police while he was in pursuit
of the thief, having driven off his snowplowing route to apprehend the driver of
the backhoe.

For the Kids
A new cartoon character was introduced on the Hamas-controlled television
channel Al-Aksa on February 8th , the third
in a series of animal mascots campaigning
for resistance against Israelis. According
to a February dispatch in London’s Daily
Mail, the latest character joins “Farfur,” a
Mickey Mouse look-alike who, according
to the storyline, was assassinated by Israeli soldiers, and “Nahul,” a bumblebee who
was killed when denied medical treatment
after an Israeli attack. The latest character
is “Assud,” a Bugs Bunny look-alike who
does not say, “What’s up, Doc?” but rather,
“I will eat Jews.”

Flakey Sale
Someone has offered more than $500
on eBay for a flake of breakfast cereal
that resembles the state of Illinois. Emily
McIntire, a 15 year-old high school sophomore from Chesapeake, Virginia, found
the flake while grabbing fistfuls of cereal
on her way to school. Her parents suggested she sell it for fun. “At the moment it’s
residing in a fine jewelry box with a lot of
cotton wrapped around it to keep it safe,”
said her sister Melissa. The McIntire sisters will pay to ship the item, and plan to
use the proceeds from their lucrative sale
to buy more cereal.

Just When You Expect a
Reward…
Rather than being rewarded for stopping an out-of-control school bus in Seaside, California, 15 year-old Marina High
School student Amanda Rouse was instead
given Saturday detention because she was
not supposed to be on the bus in the first
place. Rouse said that she fell ill on the
way to school, and she asked the bus driver

The County Times
to take her back to the bus yard. She ended
up on a bus with 40 elementary school students, where the bus driver fell out of her
seat and hit her head after making a turn,
sending the bus flying into traffic. Rouse
jumped up and applied the brakes, stopping
the vehicle after striking two parked cars,
and no one was injured. Rouse was given
detention for not calling in sick. “She is
in trouble because she made the wrong decision,” said Rouse’s grandmother, Sally
Correll. “But I can’t help but believe that
she was where God wanted her to be.”

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Life
Continued from page A-

who’s graduated to murder.”
Both State’s Attorney
Richard Fritz and Young’s attorney Public Defender Sean
Moran agreed that Young’s
lengthy juvenile record was a
warning that the juvenile justice system had failed to rehabilitate him.
“Unfortunately they failed
him [Young] and the state of
Maryland and Kenneth James
Walter in this case,” Moran
said to Raley, asking for the
possibility of parole for his
client.
Moran also said that
Young came from an abusive,
broken home, suffered from
learning disabilities and traded prescription medication for
marijuana and alcohol to self
medicate and deal with his
circumstances.
Young had been diagnosed with Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder as well
as being bi-polar while still
in elementary school, Moran
said.
This, plus his lack of education, led to his client “having
little chance of succeeding in
the community.”
Fritz, however, argued that
the senseless nature of the killing necessitated Young’s being
sentenced to life with out the
possibility of parole.
He said some homicides

“I’m here in Maryland
where I should be visiting my
son,” said Cynthia Walter tearfully from the witness stand.
“But instead I’m in this court
room looking for justice.”
Cynthia Walter described
her son as a well-loved veteran
who had made friends literally
A librarian in Lindsey, California was across the globe from his serfired after reporting that a man was using vice in the U.S. Navy.
She said that the famone of the public computers to view child
pornography. Brenda Blisterfeld contacted ily had held two memorials
her supervisor and asked her advice after for her son because of all the
she saw the man looking at pictures of na- people he left behind and both
ked boys on one of the library’s computers. were filled.
“He had his whole life
She was instructed to tell him to stop or
he would be banned from the library, but ahead of him,” she said of her
she was told not to call the police. Blister- dead son. “Kenny was not in
feld called the police anyway to report the the wrong place at the wrong
incident, and was abruptly fired. County time… his life was taken by
librarian Brian Lewis said there were solid Johntonna Young.”
Guy Walter called Young
business reasons for Blisterfeld’s firing,
a “coward” from the witness
but he would not go into detail.
stand for “laying in wait” to
shoot his son.
The Longest Bathroom
When he left the witness
stand he looked directly at
Break Ever
Young and told him: “You are
A man in Ness City, Kansas may be nothing.”
“The citizens of Lexingcharged with mistreatment of a dependant adult for letting his girlfriend sit on ton Park and St. Mary’s Counthe toilet too long. A 36 year-old antique ty need to be protected from
store employee named Kory McFarren Young,” the victim’s father
told police that his girlfriend of 16 years, said. “He’s a career criminal
35 year-old Pam Babcock, had a phobia
about leaving the bathroom. He said that
he had tried to coax her out of the second
bathroom of their mobile home every day
for two years, but that she had refused to Continued from page A-
come out, at which point he brought her
health of the Chesapeake Bay.
food, water, and clean clothes every day.
“Oysters are probably the most imporHe claimed that his only crime had been
tant animal in the bay,” said Richard Pelz
not calling for help sooner. Ness County
of Circle C Oyster Ranch in Ridge, which
Sheriff Brian Whipple said that there was
is helping CCA with the oyster-seeding
an awful smell in the house, “obviously
project. “Pretty much everything else decoming from where she was at.” Police
pends on it.”
discovered Babcock on the toilet, where
Pelz, who has for about the past 20
they estimate she had been perched conyears grown oysters himself, said that one
tinuously for the last thirty days, and that
three-inch oyster can filter about 50 to 55
she had developed sores on which the toigallons of water a day and that with diminlet seat became stuck. Authorities had to
ishing oyster populations the silt from eroremove the entire toilet seat in order to get
sion and development are left to build up,
Babcock out of the home for medical treatdamaging the bay and the life in it.
ment. “The unfortunate thing is this truly
Tributaries to the bay like the Patuxent
is a case of two people, in my opinion,
River are also in poor health, he said.
with diminished mental capacity,” said
“It’s not [in good shape] and it needs to
Whipple.
be,” Pelz said.
James Cotugno, who lives on St. Jerome’s Creek in Dameron, got involved
with the local CCA chapter because his
love of fishing opened his eyes to the
worsening conditions the local waterways
appear to suffering.
“The water quality is absolutely reduced,” Cotugno said. “The creeks are
silted with mud because the oysters aren’t
there doing what they’re designed to do
naturally.
“It’s the missing link to bringing life
back into the bay.”
Scott McGuire, president of the local
CCA chapter, said the St. Thomas Creek

Oysters

involving people engaging in
risky or even criminal relationships and circumstances could
be partially understood.
Not so the murder of the
victim, Fritz said.
“What is not understandable is the random, senseless killing of people walking
down the street in the normal
course of their lives,” Fritz told
the court. “This is one of the
most cold-blooded, executiontype murders I’ve seen in 30
years.
“This case points to the
total failure of the juvenile justice system. This case should
signal something to those in
that system.”
Young declined to say
anything during his sentencing hearing when asked offered the chance by Raley.
Young’s family watched,
mostly in silence as Raley pronounced his sentence.
Because of the jury’s guilty
verdict, Raley said, as well as
the statements made by the
victim’s parents he “without
hesitation and from the belief
that no other sentence could
be rendered in this case” sentenced Young to life in prison
without parole as well as to a
20-year consecutive sentence
for the use of a handgun in the
commission of a felony.

oyster project is just one of a series of projects designed to get local residents and
fishermen to help restore the bay and local waterways through their own volunteer
efforts.
The second phase of the plan will be
to recruit volunteers in the Hellen Creek
community in Calvert County to seed oysters there, while the third phase will be to
produce research materials that will teach
others how to seed their own oysters.
McGuire said the Circle C Oyster
Ranch was invaluable in helping them get
started.
“This is our first oyster project,” McGuire said. “We realized we could do it
ourselves but we needed training.
“The biggest benefit we get is the
training.”
The oysters seeded in the St. Thomas
Creek will stay there for two years as they
grow and mature, McGuire said, and then
will be taken to a permanent sanctuary in
the Patuxent River.
“That’s the plan; to get people growing
oysters to benefit the water quality in the
streams, then move it to the main river to
strengthen the spawning stock,” McGuire
said.
Pelz said that anglers like those McGuire and Cotugno represent are those
who have the most to gain or lose from the
health of the local waterways and the bay.
“People in sport fishing are getting
the idea this is a way they can help,” Pelz
said. “It’s bringing along people who have
a vested interest in improving things.”

T he W illows

Photo by Andrea Shiell

Oyster nets are packed with straw and then launched into the creek, where they will stay for two years as the
oysters grow and mature. The oysters will then be moved to a permanent sanctuary in the Patuxent River.

Obituaries
Lola Potter Clarke
L o l a
P o t t e r
Clarke, of
Wo o d i n ville, Wash.,
died March
15.
L o l a
is survived
by her beloved brother, Edsel Potter;
her sisters: Jean Whittemore,
JoAnn Schlusemeyer, and
Elvy Hovarter; children Tom
Newbourne and Nancy Pejovich; stepson: Robert Clarke
stepdaughter:Thorne Clarke;
mother-in law of Linda
Newbourne, Lou Pejovich
and Barbara Clarke; Loving grandmother of Tamara
Rieger, Craig Hinton, Scott
Hinton, Carrie Hinton, Christen Sardano and Kim Smith
and proud great-grandmother
of Drew Rieger, Karly Rieger, William Hinton, Phoebe
Hinton, Sydney Sardano, and
Sabrina Scott.
She was born Nov. 28 in
Dahlgren, Va.
Raised as one of seven
children born to Vinnie and
Carrie Potter, Lola treasured
her friends and family. She
traveled and enjoyed her life
as a Navy wife as well as a
career woman working at the
Pentagon.
Lola loved to dance, golf,
decorate, sail, knit, sew, solve
crossword puzzles and gourmet cooking. Learning was
her passion, and she was not
be satisfied with just learning
– she became an expert at everything she took on!!!
She will be dearly missed
and always loved. The family
will receive friends Thursday,
March 20 from 9 – 10 a.m.
in the Mattingley-Gardiner
Funeral Home, where a Funeral Service will be held at
10 a.m. with Deacon George
L’Heureux officiating. Interment will follow at Immaculate Heart of Mary Cemetery,
Lexington Park.
Arrangements provided
by the Mattingley-Gardiner
Funeral Home, P.A.

Robert F.”Cookie” Cook,
68
Rober t
F.”Cookie”
Cook, 68
of
Ridge
died in his
residence
March 14.
F o r merly from
Wa s h i n g ton, D.C., where he was a teenager, he moved to St. Mary’s
County with his preceding
guardian, John K. Erly.
Mr. Cook lived a fulfilling life being once married
and having two grown children and two grandchildren.
Retiring from the State of
Maryland after 25 years,
he was an active member of
the Ridge Volunteer Rescue
Squad.
He leaves behind two
children, Robert A. Cook and
Kimberly E. Cook and their
mother Marie A. Cook. He
also leaves behind two grandchildren, and the children of
Robert A. Cook and daughter-in-law Laura L. Cook,
Justin A. Cook and Miranda
L. Cook, his extended family, sister of Marie A. Cook:
Janice L. Cooke and her husband Bob along with their
daughter and the niece of
Robert F. Cook, Pamela L.
Drechsler. Pamela’s husband,
Bob Drechsler and their two
children, Todd and Megan
Drechsler; Childhood friend
and family, Maurice Erly and
his wife Patricia and their
three sons, Jay, Brian and Steven Erly.
The family received
friends in the MattingleyGardiner Funeral Home,
P.A. Wednesday, March 19
from 2 – 3 p.m., where a memorial service was held at 3
p.m. with Deacon George
L’Heureux officiating. Interment was private.
Memorial contributions
may be made to the Ridge

Lt. Colonel Thomas Harrison Ewell, Sr. USAF
(ret.), 91
Lt. Colonel Thomas Harrison
Ewell, Sr.
USAF (ret.),
91, of Hollywood, Md.
died March
15 in his
residence.
Born Feb. 23, 1917 in
Compton Md., he was the son
of the late Guy Stanley Ewell,
Sr. and Eunice Marie Ewell.
A veteran World War II
pilot, Harrison retired from
his duties in the Air Force in
1961. He continued a career in
Civil Service until fully retiring to his St. Mary’s County
home in 1982.
He is survived by his
daughter Judith Marie Ewell,
his son Thomas H. Ewell, Jr.
and wife Louise Gail of Hollywood; his granddaughter
Adrienne M. Casteen and
husband Michael of Pisgah
Forest, N.C., his granddaughter Kimberley D. Ewell of
Hollywood; his great-grandson Logan B. Casteen; his
brothers Guy Stanley Ewell,
Jr. of Hollywood, Leonard E.
Ewell of Clearwater Fla., and
Allen E. Ewell of Hollywood;
his sisters Esther Della Collins of­­­­ N.C., and Eunice M.
Fairchild of Silver Springs
Md.
Harrison was preceded in
death by his wife Lillian Louise and his brother Daniel A.
Ewell.
The family will receive
friends from 5 – 7 p.m. Monday, March 24 at the Brinsfield Funeral Home in Leonardtown. A Funeral Service
will be conducted at 7 p.m. in
the funeral home chapel. Pastor Dale Skurla will conduct
the service.
Internment will be at Arlington National Cemetery
the following week at 3 p.m.
Tuesday, April 1.
Memorial contributions
may be made to the American Diabetes Association,
Washington DC-MD Office, 1025 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC
20036-4104.

Johnie Albert Hines, 77
J o h nie Albert
Hines, 77,
of Lexington
Park
died March
16 in his
Residence.
Bor n
Jan. 3, 1931, in LaGrange,
Georgia, he was the son of the
late Roy Dewey Hines and
Hattie Burgess Hines.
He served 23 years in
U.S. Navy, retiring as a Chief
Petty Officer, followed by 17
years of service at Grumman
Corporation as a structural
engineer. Johnie loved to play
bingo and was a talented furniture maker.
He is survived by his
wife, Violet Mary Hines
of Lexington Park; and his
children, Gerald Skalby of
Canada, Daniel Skalby of
Lusby, Md., Robin Little of
California, Md., Roy Hines of
Lexington Park, Teresa Pace
of California, Md., and Peggy
Hines of Austin, Texas.; stepchildren, Debbie Gonzalez
of Clinton, Md., and Eddie
Keister of Lexington Park;
Nine grandchildren, and two
great-grandchildren.
Relatives and friends are
invited to Mr. Hines’ Life
Celebration at the Brinsfield
Funeral Home, P.A., Leonardtown Friday, March 21 from
5 – 8 p.m. Interment will be
private.

Eleanor “Faye”
McLaughlin, 46
Eleanor “Faye”
McLaug hlin, 46, of
Leonardtown, and
for merly
of
Maddox, Md.,
died March
13, 2008 in
Washington Hospital Center.
Born Aug. 25, 1961 in
Leonardtown she was the
daughter of the late Lewis
Lorenza and Alice Elizabeth
Gragan Hill. She was the loving wife of William Thomas
McLaughlin, Sr. whom she
married July 19, 1985 in
Leonardtown.
She is survived by her son
William Thomas McLaughlin Jr. of Bushwood, and her
stepchildren Crystal Downs,
Linda Tippett and Douglas
McLaughlin as well as two
grandchildren Jessie and
Hannah Kolbe. She is also
survived by her siblings; Alice and Betty Hill of Maddox,
Md., Phil Hill of Oraville,
Md., Miriam Cryer of Fla.,
Debbie Nelson of Clements,
Janet Hunt of Tex and Kenny
Hill of Helen.
She was preceded in
death by her brothers Roger
and Donald Hill.
The family received
friends Monday, March 17
from 5 – 8 p.m. in the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home
Chapel, Leonardtown, where
prayers were said at 7 p.m. A
Mass of Christian Burial was
celebrated Tuesday, March
18 at 10 a.m. in Our Lady of
the Wayside Catholic Church,
Chaptico with Fr. Timothy
Baer officiating. Interment
followed in Charles Memorial Gardens, Leonardtown.
Pallbearers were Rodney
Hill, Dave Hill, Johnnie Wathen, Stevie Nelson, Robert
Hill and Bruce Knott.
Arrangements provided
by the Mattingley-Gardiner
Funeral Home, P.A.

Gerard (Jerry) James
Rolape, 65
G e rard (Jerry)
James Rolape,
65,
of
Bushwood, died
March 8 in
St. Mary’s
Hospital
in Leonardtown, after a long illness.
He was born June 12, 1942, in
Fort Wayne, Ind. the youngest of six children of the late
Blanche Gadbois Rolape and
Ralph Rolape Sr. He joined
the Army in 1960 and became
a member of the Signal Corps.
In 1966, he married Ruth
Elizabeth Laughlin-Heath of
Santa Rosa, Calif. Ruth died
from an illness in 1984. Jerry
married Mary Ida Beitzell of
Bushwood, in Holy Angels
Catholic Church in 1986.
While in the Army, Jerry was
assigned tours in Okinawa,
Japan, Sinop, Turkey and Asmara, Ethiopia among other
places. During the Vietnam
War Era, he was stationed
in South East Asia where he
traveled with small groups incountry to Laos and Cambodia meeting with local tribal
leaders and getting their permission to install Department
of Defense (DoD) communications antennas. Stateside,
he was assigned to bases
in California, New Jersey
and finally, Arlington, Va.
Jerry joined the Defense Intelligence Agency doing work
similar to his Army experiences. He would often leave
one coast and travel around
the world visiting DoD communications installations and
several (sometimes many)
months later, return to the
States on the opposite coast.
Wherever he traveled, Jerry
used his spare time to visit
art and history museums
and explore the cultures of
the countries he visited. By
the first Gulf War, Jerry had

risen to the position of the
DoD Special Intelligence
Networks Communications
Manager. Jerry loved electronics and his job allowed
him to work with systems as
basic as “HAM” Radio to the
most sophisticated data and
voice systems in the world.
Jerry retired March 2, 1996
after completing 36 years of
federal service. He received
numerous awards including: Three Recommendations of Outstanding Performance, Two Quality Salary
Increases, Sustained Superior
Performance, Defense Unit
Citation Awards for service
during Desert Storm and for
service during the U.N. crisis
in Somalia, Defense Intelligence Agency Certificates of
Appreciation and numerous
Letters of Appreciation from
commands where work and
service was performed while
on Temporary Duty Status.
Upon his retirement to St.
Mary’s County, Jerry continued to pursue his hobbies with
Large Scale Garden Railroads
and Computers. He loved nature, hiking, astronomy and
abstract and surrealist art. He
and his wife Mary Ida created
a wild life habitat on the Beitzell family farm - which gave
him the excuse to buy and run
tractors and farm equipment
while pretending to “work”
on the habitat. Despite concerted attempts by the Beitzell
family, Jerry never became a
true fisherman - his idea of
a fishing trip was to jump
in the boat, cruise to Cobb
Island and eat oysters and
rockfish at Captain John’s.
Jerry is survived by his wife,
Mary Ida Rolape, his stepson, Gail Heath and his wife
Kay Heath and grand-child
Jennifer Heath all of Sterling
Va., his sister Aileen Franz
and her husband Herman
Franz of Decatur, Ind., his
sister Rosemary Iacona and
her husband Louis Iacona of
Pinopolis, S.C. and his brother Ralph Rolape Jr. and his
wife Dianna Rolape of Herrin, Ill. He is also survived
by his mother in-law, Frances
Beitzell of Bushwood, and inlaws Charles “Chuck” Beitzell and his wife Rose Beitzell
of Bushwood, Eileen Beitzell
of Leonardtown and Mable
Bailey and her husband,
Thomas Bailey of Bushwood
and more than 40 nieces and
nephews. He will be greatly
missed by all.
A memorial service
is planned for late April
at his home in Bushwood.

ton University Hospital. Born
Sept. 30, 1943 in Leonardtown, he was the son of the
late Levin Oliver and Mary
Louise Ryce.
He was the loving husband of Dorothy “Dottie” Victoria Ryce whom he married
Aug. 1, 1964 in Immaculate
Conception Catholic Church,
Mechanicsville.
He is survived by his children: Ricky Ryce and his wife
Elise and Tammy Carpenter
and her husband Ken all of
Mechanicsville; sister: Peggy Derrick and her husband
Pete of Wilmington, N.C. and
four grandchildren: Amanda
Ryce, Cadence Ryce, Wayne
Carpenter and Cal Carpenter
all of Mechanicsville.
Mr. Ryce was a lifelong
St. Mary’s County resident
where he graduated from
Margaret Brent High School
in the Class of 1962. He was
an electrician for Ryce Electric of Mechanicsville for 43
years until his retirement on
July 25, 2003. Dickie was
a member of the St. Mary’s
County Softball League; he
enjoyed watching Redskins
games, fishing, woodworking
and spending time with his
grandchildren.
The family received
friends Sunday, March 16
from 2 – 5 p.m. in the Mattingley-Gardiner
Funeral
Home, where Prayers were
said at 3 p.m. A Funeral Service was held Monday, March
17 at 10 a.m. in Mt. Zion
United Methodist Church of
Laurel Grove, 27108 Mount
Zion Church Road, Mechanicsville, MD 20659 with Rev.
Ann Strickler officiating.
Interment will follow in
Charles Memorial Gardens,
Leonardtown.
Pallbearers
were Robbie Cooper, Stan
Guy, Duffy Owens, Timmy
Carpenter, Daryl Burch and
Mike Anderson. Honorary
Pallbearers were his grandchildren Amanda Ryce, Cadence Ryce, Wayne Carpenter and Cal Carpenter.
Contributions may be
made to: Mt. Zion United
Methodist Church of Laurel
Grove, 27108 Mount Zion
Church Road, Mechanicsville, MD 20659 and/or Mechanicsville Volunteer Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 15, Mechanicsville, MD 20659.
Arrangements provided
by the Mattingley-Gardiner
Funeral Home, P.A.

vices for Saco-Lowell, Inc.,
a textile machinery company.
He received his Bachelor of
Sciences Degree in Mechanical Engineering at Iowa State
University.
Mr. Sopousek is survived
by his daughter, Jan Brandstetter, of Mechanicsville, a
granddaughter, Sheila Greer
of Hughesville and a great
granddaughter, Tabitha Greer
of Hughesville.
In addition to his parents
and spouse, he is preceded
in death by a granddaughter,
Lisa Marie Brandstetter.
A Memorial Service
was held Friday, March 14 at
10:30 a.m. in the Asbury-Solomons Health Care Center,
Solomons. Inurnment will be
private.
Contributions may be
made to the Alzheimer’s
Association, P.O. Box 1889,
LaPlata, MD 20646.
Condolences to the family may be made at www.
brinsfieldfuneral.com.
Arrangements by the
Brinsfield Funeral Home,
P.A., Leonardtown.

Madison Renae Thompson, 4 Months
Madison Renae Thompson, 4 Months old, of California died March 14 in St. Mary’s
Hospital, Leonardtown.
Born Nov. 10, 2007 in
Baltimore, Md., she was the
daughter of Shawn Patrick
Thompson, Sr. and Christina
Rae Bowen of California.
She is survived by a sister,
Myressa R. Thompson, four
brothers, Thomas W. Bowen,
Austin T. Bowen, Shawn P.
Thompson, Jr. and Alex C.
Thompson all of California, a
maternal great grandmother
Betty Courchen of Mechanicsville, maternal grandparents,
Charles and Karen Leach of
Lusby, Md. and many aunts
and uncles.
The family received friends
Tuesday, March 18 from 6 – 8
p.m. in the Brinsfield Funeral
Home, P.A. in Leonardtown.
A Graveside Service was
conducted at 1 p.m. Wednesday,
March 19 in Charles Memorial
Gardens, Leonardtown. Deacon George L’Heureux will
conduct the service.

John M. Sopousek, 86
John M. Sopousek, 86,
of Solomons died March 10
in Asbury-Solomons Health
Care Center, Solomons.
Born April 10, 1921 in
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, he was
the son of the late Milver Sopousek and Irene L. Janacek
Sopousek.
Mr. Sopousek
married the late Doris Anne
Lebel Aug. 5, 1946 in Bamberg, Germany.
Mr. Sopousek served in
the U.S. Army from 1944
until 1951. He was later Vice
President of Marketing Ser-

Gaming
Continued from page A-
ing illegally.
Deputy Cindy Allen, spokeswoman for the
sheriff, said business owners could find deputies
taking the machines out of their establishments
if they refuse to comply with the law.
“They’re expected to comply with the law
or enforcement action could take place, up to

The County Times
and including seizure of the machines,” Allen
said. “We’re making arrangements for a storage
facility… we’re hoping that they’ll either give
machines back or do what they need to do to get
into compliance.”
The opinion handed down from Attorney
General Douglas Gansler’s office March 10 stated that some electronic gaming machines could
be illegal based on several facets of law.
Allen said compliance checks showed that
several establishment owners operating the machines were not in compliance with one facet of
the law or on as many as five.

Photo by Guy Leonard

An investigator with the Maryland State Police checks out gaming machines at the Brass Rail March 13.

Commissioners Make
Additional Cuts To Budget
By Guy Leonard
Staff Writer
The St. Mary’s County Board of County
Commissioners ended their last of three budget work sessions Monday, making about
$2.2 million in additional cuts to the county’s operating budget to meet with expected
revenues.
Many of those cuts, about $1.7 million,
came out of the budget request of Sheriff
Timothy K. Cameron which some of the
commissioners said was over and above the
$27.8 million they were willing to fund.
Cameron’s budget request was $32.2 million, adjusted for compensation and benefits,
according to Chief Financial Officer Elaine
Kramer.
Commissioners said they would fund
two additional deputy and two correctional
officer positions but fell short of supporting
Cameron’s recruiting goal of 25 additional
positions throughout the agency.
The commissioners did choose to support on improvement to the sheriff’s retirement plan, however that would allow accrual
of retirement benefits of two-and-a-half percent of salary a year after 2008 above the current two percent.
“We’re just trying to get it to fit into
the revenues available,” said Commissioner
Thomas Mattingly (D-Leonardtown).
Commissioner Lawrence Jarboe (RGolden Beach) said that despite the cuts
made to Cameron’s budget request, the office
was still getting an increase in its piece of the
budgetary pie.
“Even so he’s getting the lion’s share of
the increase percentage wise in county government, he and the Board of Education,”
Jarboe said. “He still ended up $500,000 over
baseline.”
County Administrator John Savich said
that the total cuts to make up the $3.15 million shortfall as of March 17 came from
across the board, though much of it was cut
from Cameron’s request.
“Virtually every agency lost something,”
Savich said. “The commissioners tried to
balance the needs of the community and still
keep it [operating expenses] affordable.”
The commissioners are expected to adopt
the final draft of the budget at their March 25

meeting; it will then go to public hearing
starting April 22.
Kramer said the final budget figure
for fiscal 2009 would be about $194 million. In the past three weeks of budget
work sessions the commissioners cut
about $7.1 million from the total budget,
she said.
Along with cutting the request of the
sheriff, and nearly every county agency,
the commissioners also decided not to
fund any reclassifications of county employees working at higher responsibilities than their current pay rates as well
as conversions of several long-time part
time employees to full-time status.
Kramer said that about $500,000 was
taken from various departments in total
and another $100,000 was withheld by
commissioners that might have gone to
non-county government groups ranging
from Walden/Sierra to the Big Brothers,
Big Sisters program.
Jarboe said that the increase in the
fire and rescue tax rate requested by
n i zat ions
three volunteer orgawas also reflected
in the
budget.
He
said
that the commissioners
should
return
to the budget and
attempt to make
further cuts in less
critical services to
compensate for both the
tax rate increase and the
increase in the rate of
property assessments
for county residents.
Jarboe said he
would like to see as
much as $750,000 to $1
million in additional cuts
if possible.
“We need to go back
and look at non-essential
savings, at whether there are
some things the county should
be funding and maybe make
consolidations,” Jarboe said.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Those included whether the type of machine
was legal, whether the machine was being operated for the benefit of a local charity or qualified
organization or how the proceeds from the machines were being disbursed.
Violations were found starting March 13,
when sheriff’s deputies, state police investigators and officers from the Maryland Comptroller’s Office began their investigation into the
more than 300 machines situated in nearly 30
locations across the county, Allen said.
Investigators worked throughout the weekend to compile a list of which businesses where
in compliance.
Cameron said there were 16 establishments
still operating the machines last Thursday when
the compliance checks started, but about eight
either did not have them or had done away with
them.
Bob Sorrells, owner of Fred’s Liquors in
Charlotte Hall, said he would comply with the
orders of law enforcement but he would wait to
see what the week brought.
“We’ll hang onto them until we here from
the sheriff,” Sorrells said of the machines.
“All my customers keep [asking] why
St. Mary’s and not Anne Arundel or Calvert
County?
“But we try not to answer much.”
Sorrells was referring to the same kind of

machines that have been allowed by law to operate for several years now, but are under siege by
a bill supported by Senate President Thomas V.
“Mike” Miller (D-Chesapeake Beach).
That bill would eliminate all electronic gaming machines in the state by July 1, save in Anne
Arundel and Calvert counties, which would have
a grace period.
“There’s too much favoritism being played
here,” said Marcello Costa of Impact Games,
which owns many of the machines being operated here in St. Mary’s. “Now we’re [St. Mary’s]
the black sheep of the pull-tab dispenser saga.
“We don’t get a break.”
Costa said the three manufacturers that operated the machines in Maryland do not produce
the machine cited as legal in the Attorney General’s opinion, but the ones being used are authentic pull-tab machines and not slot machines.
The machines had predetermined winners
in them in a preset order, Costa said, and did not
generate winners inside the mechanism. They
also had been put through laboratory tests to
show that they were fair.
The machine deemed legal in Chesapeake
Amusement v. Riddle in 2001 by the Court of
Special Appeals was “like a dinosaur in a machine museum somewhere,” Costa said.
“The machines have evolved.”

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Photo by Andrea Shiell

Volunteers at the St. Thomas Creek oyster launch sported their own mascot on Tuesday, a dog named
Mozart.